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Hal Chase

Saint Petersburgh, FL - T​he Evening Independent - Jun 21, 1930DID

YOU KNOW THAT--

Hal Chase, one of the greatest first basemen in baseball history, was a dub with the bat when he broke into the major leagues. . . . there were no complaints about his fielding but at the plate Hal wasn't even a good ornament. . . . For an entire season, Clark Griffith, then manager of the Yankees, and Kid Elberfeld, his chief assistant, worked on the youngster until they were ready to give up and tag the classy fielding first sacker for a minor league club... . . Elberfeld, one of baseball's prize wits, just couldn't bear the disappointment without a little joke. . . . One afternoon toward the close of the season the Kid jumped from the bench as Chase went to the plate to take his three cuts. . . . Picking up the boy's bat used by the mascot Elberfeld walked to the plate and presented the young infielder with the new weapon. . . . Not to be outdone, Chase took the bat and proceeded to crack out a safe hit. . . . Griffith, Elberfeld and the rest of the New York club sat glued to the bench. . . . But unsuspectingly the Kid had discovered what Chase needed. . . .The next season Griffith ordered a special set of boy's bats for Chase and the youngster set out to burn up the league, murdering all kinds of pitching and setting a dizzy pace for the other batsmen of the American league.